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Antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary hospital in Xiangyang, China

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Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a common clinical pathogen that causes various human infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility pattern, molecular epidemiological characteristics, and biofilm formation ability of S. aureus isolates from clinical specimens in Xiangyang and to analyze the correlation among them. A total of 111 non-duplicate S. aureus isolates were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science. All isolates were tested for antibacterial susceptibility. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was identified by the mecA gene PCR amplification. All isolates were analyzed to determine their biofilm-forming ability using the microplate method. The biofilm-related gene was determined using PCR. SCCmec, MLST, and spa types of MRSA strains were performed to ascertain the molecular characteristics. Among the 111 S. aureus isolates, 45 (40.5%) and 66 (59.5%) were MRSA and MSSA, respectively. The resistance of MRSA strains to the tested antibiotics was significantly stronger than that of MSSA strains. All isolates were able to produce biofilm with levels ranging from strong (28.9%, 18.2%), moderate (62.2%, 62.1%), to weak (8.9%, 19.7%). Strong biofilm formation was observed in MRSA strains than in MSSA strains, based on percentages. There were dynamic changes in molecular epidemic characteristics of MRSA isolates in Xiangyang. SCCmecIVa-ST22-t309, SCCmecIVa-ST59-t437, and SCCmecIVa-ST5-t2460 were currently the main epidemic clones in this region. SCCmecIVa-ST5-t2460 and SCCmecIVa/III-ST22-t309 have stronger antibiotic resistance than SCCmecIVa-ST59-t437 strains, with resistance to 6 ~ 8 detected non-β-lactam antibiotics. The molecular epidemic and resistance attributes of S. aureus should be timely monitored, and effective measures should be adopted to control the clinical infection and spread of the bacteria.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all the participants who took part in this study.

Funding

This study was funded by Xiangyang Science and Technology Research and Development Project [grant no. 2021ZD23].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441053, China

    Yitong Tang, Na Xiao, Yuling Mei, Yue Yuan, Menghuan Wang, Zezhou Wang, Yunjuan Zhou & Yiyuan Chen

  2. Xiangyang Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441021, China

    JiuMing Zou & Shichao Li

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  1. Yitong Tang
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Correspondence to Shichao Li.

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All isolates in this study were collected during bacterial isolation and identification in the clinical microbiology laboratory of the Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Sciences. Patients were treated anonymously, so ethical approval is not required.

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Tang, Y., Xiao, N., Zou, J. et al. Antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary hospital in Xiangyang, China. Braz J Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-024-01270-9

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